Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez surrendered himself to Connecticut state police today after having been served with a warrant for his arrest. He has been charged with bribery as well as fabricating evidence and conspiracy to fabricate evidence.

During a press conference today in City Hall, Perez issued a prepared statement and had his lawyer take questions for a brief time.

Perez came into the room slightly behind schedule, and took the podium with a gaggle of supporters behind him, who burst into applause two or three times during his statement.

Following the statement, Mayor Perez had his lawyer, Hubert Santos, answer a few questions. This lasted for about ten minutes, at which time communications director Sarah Barr cut off questions and the mayor and his lawyer left the room while reporters were left hanging.

In his statement, the mayor essentially repeated what he has said before, which is to maintain his innocence and to apologize to the public for the appearance of impropriety.

Mayor Perez claimed that he never intended to use his public office for private benefit, and that he always intended to pay his contractor, Carlos Costa, for the work performed on his home, in the kitchen and bathroom. He added that he believes additional facts emerging in the next few months will perhaps exonerate him, and he resolves to continue carrying out his work in the mayor’s office and not step down.

The lawyer, Santos, said Costa told investigating officials he never expected to get paid for the private renovation work. Mayor Perez apparently did not have the same understanding, and has said he always intended to pay for it, but was also preoccupied with his wife’s ailing health when he was invoiced in February of 2007. This explains the delay in addressing the invoice, Santos said.

A reporter asked if perhaps investigators have the motive to destroy Perez’s administration. Santos replied that he thinks the chief’s state’s attorney’s office has been unable to make a white collar criminal case, and this is the best they can do, and he doesn’t think it will hold up. “All you need is probable cause,” he said, explaining that the indictment represents only the prosecution’s side of the story.

Another reporter asked, “How would Costa expect not to get paid?” Costa has worked as a city contractor, and was responsible for carrying out work on a Park Street corridor project, remaking the commercial corridor’s streetscape.

Santos answered, “He just thought he was doing something for the mayor,” and then added, “If you have a corrupt official, don’t you expect to see a pattern of [corrupt] activity?” His point was there is no such pattern in the Perez administration.

As for what may happen next, it is within the purview of the city council to remove the mayor from office with seven votes. As Anna Sale has pointed out for WNPR, the city charter assigns the council president, currently Calixto Torres, as the next person in line if the mayor would happen to be ousted. It is not known whether any councilpersons feel strongly about attempting to remove the mayor from office. Ken Krayese quoted Councilmen Luis Cotto and Matt Ritter as being disappointed and regarding these events as unfortunate; Cotto and fellow Working Families Party member Councilman Larry Deutsch also issued a short statement calling for ongoing focus on jobs, housing, ethics reforms and better government transparency.

Below, the Courant provided video of the conference, as well as a follow-up article. See the full text of the mayor’s statement at the bottom of the post, and the state’s press release following today’s arrest.

The arrest warrant resulted from a much-speculated-upon state grand jury probe into corruption. In a sworn affidavit (see below), Inspector Michael Sullivan of the state’s division of criminal justice stated the chief state’s attorney’s office began investigating the Perez administration on February 16, 2007 following a February 3 article in the Courant alleging corruption.

A one-person grand jury was empanelled in October the same year. There has been much talk that any day now, indictments were forthcoming from the probe. According to a release from the state’s division of criminal justice, Perez was arrested and charged as well as a city employee, Edward Lazu, and the contractor in question, Carlos Costa:

[Mayor Perez] and a city employee were arrested today and charged with Bribe Receiving and other counts for allegedly having thousands of dollars worth of free work done at their homes by a contractor who did business with the city. The contractor also was arrested and charged with Bribery and other counts.

Mr. Perez, who was first elected Mayor of Hartford in 2001, was charged in a warrant with one count each of Bribe Receiving, Fabricating Physical Evidence and Conspiracy to Fabricate Physical Evidence.

Edward Lazu, an employee at Hartford City Hall, was charged with one count of Bribe Receiving, three counts of Forgery in the Second Degree and one count of Criminal Attempt to Fabricate Physical Evidence.

Carlos Costa, of 85 Balfour Drive, West Hartford, who owns and operates USA Contractors, Inc., was charged with two counts of Bribery, and one count each of Fabricating Physical Evidence and Conspiracy to Fabricate Physical Evidence. He was arrested Monday, January 26, 2009.

Perez gave an interview to WNPR’s John Dankosky yesterday morning, a Monday like any other, talking the city up on “Where We Live,” only to turn around and give an interview to the Courant, later on the same day, with his lawyer, to try to get ahead of the bad news coming. Dankosky followed up with a blog post describing a feeling of being burned, and how the mayor wasted a chance to show some transparency regarding what was about to happen.

Below, the Courant helpfully provided a copy of the 28-page arrest warrant issued by the state’s attorney’s office. Update: the PDF was removed; reporter Ken Krayeske has in turn helpfully linked to the document here. Recommended reading.

—
Eddie A. Perez
Mayor

Statement from Mayor Perez

(January 27, 2009) Mayor Eddie A. Perez has issued the following statement during a news conference in regards to the allegations made by the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney:

Thank you for coming.

In August of 2007, I informed the public that inspectors from the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office had searched my home in connection with work performed on my kitchen and bathroom by Carlos Costa a city contractor.  At that time, I released documentation illustrating I always intended to pay Costa for the work and my actual payment of the bill presented.

Today, I was served a warrant by the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office alleging those home improvements were the basis for me taking an official action that benefited Mr. Costa.

Let me begin by apologizing to the people of Hartford, city employees and my family. I should have never used a city contractor to conduct improvements on my home. It was inappropriate and inexcusable.  I should never have allowed the perception of impropriety to color my administration.

The people of Hartford have voted for me twice since I made these allegations public, and I remain humbled that they have selected me to work with them to make our city a better place. That is why I intend to serve out my term and complete the job I was hired to do.

That being said, I have never traded my public position for a private benefit and I am deeply disturbed by the allegations contained in the warrant affidavit.

My office has always taken a business friendly approach. I am proud that we have always worked with scores of  businesses large and small to resolve issues with city government. However, at no point have I used my position to improperly benefit any business or individual.

Over the next days, weeks and months I expect additional facts will come out that refute the allegations in the arrest warrant. I look forward to addressing these charges in court.

However, I am deeply sorry for how my actions have impacted the city and my family. I have a renewed resolve to carry out the important work before us. Thank You.

–

State of Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice
January 27, 2009

Hartford Mayor, City Worker and Contractor Arrested in Bribery Case

Hartford Mayor EDDIE A. PEREZ and a city employee were arrested today and charged with Bribe Receiving and other counts for allegedly having thousands of dollars worth of free work done at their homes by a contractor who did business with the city. The contractor also was arrested and charged with Bribery and other counts.

Mr. Perez, who was first elected Mayor of Hartford in 2001, was charged in a warrant with one count each of Bribe Receiving, Fabricating Physical Evidence and Conspiracy to Fabricate Physical Evidence.

EDWARD LAZU, an employee at Hartford City Hall, was charged with one count of Bribe Receiving, three counts of Forgery in the Second Degree and one count of Criminal Attempt to Fabricate Physical Evidence.

CARLOS COSTA, of 85 Balfour Drive, West Hartford, who owns and operates USA Contractors, Inc., was charged with two counts of Bribery, and one count each of Fabricating Physical Evidence and Conspiracy to Fabricate Physical Evidence. He was arrested Monday, January 26, 2009.

According to the arrest warrant affidavits, the arrests are the result of an investigatory grand jury empanelled on October 24, 2007, “to focus on corruption and the misuse of public funds in the government of the City of Hartford and its activities and dealings with persons or firms doing business with the city.”

Superior Court Judge Dennis G. Eveleigh was appointed as the investigatory grand jury. The investigation is being conducted in conjunction with the Public Integrity Bureau in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney assisted by the Connecticut State Police. The investigation is continuing and additional arrests are expected.

The defendants were arrested today by Inspectors from the Public Integrity Bureau and the Connecticut State Police at the State Police Troop H in Hartford. Mr. Perez and Mr. Lazu were released on written promises to appear in Hartford Superior Court, G.A. No. 14, on February 3, 2009. Mr. Costa was released on a written promise to appear in the same court on February 6, 2009.

The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

According to the arrest warrant affidavits, USA Contractors, Inc., a contractor that had city contracts worth several million dollars, at Mr. Perez’s request did home improvement work at the Mayor’s residence at 59 Bloomfield Avenue in Hartford. The work, valued at approximately $40,000, was completed in August 2005 but Mr. Perez paid only $20,217 for it and not until July 2007, almost two years later and only after the Mayor was confronted about the matter by Public Integrity Bureau Inspectors, the warrant alleges.

No building permits were obtained until after the investigation had begun, the warrants allege, and Mr. Perez requested and received a fraudulent billing statement that did not include all of the costs for the work and materials. The bill was requested by Mr. Perez after the Mayor became aware of questions circulating in the community about whether he had paid for the work, the warrants state.

The warrants further allege that the investigation found “numerous instances where Mayor Perez [in his official capacities as mayor] apparently intervened in matters to benefit Carlos Costa or Carlos Costa obtained assistance from Mayor Perez to benefit himself (Costa).” According to the warrants, Mr. Costa was approached by the Mayor and did not expect to be paid for the renovation work. Furthermore, Mr. Costa believed he would have been “’black balled’ as a contractor in the City” if he had not done the work for free, according to the warrants.

The arrest warrants allege that Mr. Lazu, a city employee involved in the process of certifying that USA Contractors, Inc., was eligible to receive certain city contracts, had work valued at a minimum of approximately $2,600 done by USA Contractors to the driveway and sidewalk at his home at 658 Broadview Terrace in Hartford.

Mr. Lazu claimed he hired USA Contractors and paid $1,100 for the work, but Mr. Costa testified that he did not charge for the work or receive any payment, all of which he considered “the cost of doing business” in Hartford.

Mr. Costa further testified that Mr. Lazu requested a cash receipt for $1,000 after Mr. Lazu was subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury, which Mr. Costa said he refused to provide, the warrants state.

Bribe Receiving and Bribery are both class C felonies punishable by up to ten years incarceration on each count. Fabricating Physical Evidence, Conspiracy to Fabricate Physical Evidence, Criminal Attempt to Fabricate Physical Evidence and Forgery in the Second Degree are class D felonies punishable by up to five years incarceration on each count.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 4:41 pm and is filed under Development, Ethics, Events, Finance, Hartford, Media, Photos, Press conferences, Public spaces, Urban Compass.